Bottle closure assembling machine



Feb. 9, 1937. B. NAGY BOTTLE CLOSURE ASSEMBLING MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 24 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet l in l A.) "in" llllllllllllmm Feb. 9, 1937. B. NAGY BOTTLE CLOSURE ASSEMBLING MACHINE '4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Aug. 24, 1933 Beg/70);???

Feb. 9, 1937. B. NAGY BOTTLE CLOSURE ASSEMBLING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Aug. 24, 1933 INVENTOR 4d Be 67 ATTORNEY B. NAGY 2,069,897

BOTTLE CLOSURE ASSEMBLING MACHINE Feb. 9, 1937.

Original Filed Aug. 24, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTQR WVZ/WTTQETW Berf/m/d Nagy I Patented Feb. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application August 24, 1933, Serial No. 686,497 Renewed December 14, 1936 10 Claims.

The purpose of this invention is to provide improvements in the means for releasing and feeding the cork discs of a bottle closure assembling machine.

The invention is a bottle closure assembling machine having means for feeding the cork discs in pairs to a carrying wheel above the caps in which means is provided for releasing said discs to the feeding means only when a cap is contained in the cap carrying wheels in such a position that it will receive the disc. The invention is also in the use of a cap carrying wheel of a substantially smaller diameter than an assembling wheel.

Similar machines have been used in which the cap carrying wheels have been of the same size as the assembling wheels which operate with an intermittent motion, and it has been found more practical to feed the cork discs by an independent slidable feeder, and to use an assembling wheel of a comparatively larger diameter in order to provide longer drying time for the glue with the corks held in the caps. A release is also provided in the cap feeding mechanism whereby caps engaging the ends of the teeth of the cap carrying sprocket may be ejected.

This invention, therefore, relates to a bottle cap closing machine having a continuously moving assembling element, a cap carrying element, and a cork carrying element in which means is provided for feeding cork discs into position over the caps, and said cork feeding means is provided with means for holding the corks to prevent their being fed into position above the caps when a cap is missing. Other improvements are in the use of an assembling element of a substantially larger diameter than the cap carrying element in order to provide more drying time while the discs are held in the caps under pressure'in said element.

The object of the invention is to provide improvements in bottle cap assembling machines in which the cork discs are only fed when there is a cap in position, and in which the size of the assembling element is increased to provide longer drying time.

Another object is to provide a cork feeding mechanism in which two corks are fed at the same time.

Another object is to provide a cork feeding mechanism in which the corks are fed by a yielding movement.

Another object is to provide a cork feeding mechanism adapted to feed two corks in which means are provided for preventing feeding of the corks except when caps are in position.

A further object is to provide a cork feeding mechanism in which the parts thereof may readily be removed and replaced.

A still further object is to provide a bottle cap assembling element having a comparatively long drying time for corks held therein. Y

And a still further object of the invention is tov provide a bottle cap assembling machine having the above improvements which is of a comparatively simple and economical construction.

With these ends in view the invention embodies a bottle closure assembling machine having means feeding corks to positions above caps with a yielding movement, means controlling said cork feeding mechanism permitting feeding of the corks only when caps are in the proper positions, and a comparatively large assembling element for said corks and caps.

other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a general view showing the complete machine.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the machine with parts omitted showing the relative positions of the cork and cap carrying elements, the assembling element, and the glue and cork feeding attachments with the positions of the operating gears therefor.

Figure 3 is a detail with parts omitted and parts broken away, showing the method of assembling the corks and caps.

Figure 4 is a detail showing a section thru the edge of the cork carrying sprocket, the cork feeding chute and feeder, and the position of the cap carrying element.

Figure 5 is a detail showing a part of the assembling wheel showing a converging opening thru which the corks are forced into the caps.

Figure 6 is a detail showing an alternate construction in which positive means is provided for feeding the corks to the machine.

Figure '7 is a detail showing a plan view of the means for feeding caps to the cap carrying element with parts broken away and parts omitted.

Figure 8 is a detail showing a side elevation of a the cap feeding means also with parts broken away and parts omitted.

In the drawings the device is shown at it would be made wherein numeral l indicates the cork feeding wheel, numeral 2 the cap feeding wheel, and numeral 3 the plungers of the assembling element.

This machine is arranged, as shown in Figure 1, with a bottle cap feeder 4, and a cork disc feeder 5 positioned above the assembling elements and a conveyor 6 positioned below and at one side of saidassemblingelements,however,these parts are disclosed in separate patents so that they are not described in detail in this application. The caps are fed to the wheel 2 by which they are conveyed to positions below the assembling plungers 3 and the corks are supplied to tubes 1 from the lower ends of which they are fed to the cork wheel I and conveyed thereby to positions in the assembling element also below the plungers 3 and directly above the caps. When the corks and caps arrive at the proper position the plungers are forced downward by springs so that the corks are forced into the caps into which glue has previously been fed and these corks are firmly held in position thru substantially a complete revolution of the assembling element at which time they are released and discharged thru a chute 8 'to the conveyor 6 from which they may be conveyed to any point or points.

- The general arrangement of this machine is disclosed in prior patents, however, it has been found necessary to increase the size of the assembling element in order to provide longer drying time for the glue between the corks and caps while under pressure; to provide feeding means for the glue which only feeds glue when caps are in position, to provide yielding instead of positive means for feeding the corks, and means for preventing the corks being fed unless the caps are in position.

The cork disc carrying element is formed with a star wheel I at the bottom, a sprocket 9 above the wheel, and a spacing disc In between the sprocket and wheel. These wheels are positioned upon a disc II and are mounted upon a shaft I2 extending downward thru a bearing I3 from the upper frame ll of the machine. These members are rotated by the teeth of the sprocket 9 which engage the plungers 3 of the assembling element, as shown in Figure 3, thereby providing perfect timing between the corks and plungers as the number of teeth in the sprocket 9 corresponds with the number of corks in the wheel I. It will be understood, however, that this wheel may be provided with any number of corks and also that the wheel and sprocket may be of any size and may bemounted in any manner.

The chutes I extend downward into openings I5 and IS in a member I1 and the member I! is provided with a reciprocating slide I 8 which moves the corks from the lower ends of the openings I5 and I5 thru a slot I9 into openings 20 between the teeth of the wheel I, as shown in Figure 3 in which the corks are indicated by the numeral 2|. It is noted that as the slide moves inward, or toward the wheel I, from the position shown in Figures 3 and 4, it engages the corks at the lower ends of the chutes and forces them toward the carrying wheel, however, should. the corks be held upward and, therefore, restrained from falling downward into the slot I 9, the plate I 8 may move without feeding corks, or should only one cork be permitted to drop downward-into the slot I9, the plate may only feed one cork instead of two, and with means provided for restraining the downward movement of the corks which will permit a cork to drop downward only when a cap is in the proper position in the cap carrying sprocket it is possible to regulate the feeding of the corks so that a cork is only fed when a cap is in the correct position. This feeding mechanism, which is shown in Figure 3, comprises two sliding bars 22 and 23 which are resiliently held inward by springs 24 and 25, and it will be noted that with the bars in the inward position, such as that shown by the bar 22, the inner ends of the bars will engage the cork discs and hold them to prevent their dropping downward, whereas with the bars moved outward, such as indicated by the position of the bar 23, the cork discs will be free so that the lower disc may drop downward into the slot I9 and be fed from there into the cork carrying wheel I by the plate I8. The bars 22 and 23 are controlled by caps which are indicated by the numeral 26 in the wheel 2, and the caps engage rollers 21 and 28 on the under sides of the bars 22 and 23 so that when a cap is in the proper position in the wheel 2, it will engage one of the rollers and move the roller and slide outward so that a cork may drop downward and may be moved into one of the openings 20 which will correspond with the opening having a cap therein, however, if the cap is not in place, the spring will hold the slide inward so that it will engage the cork and prevent the cork dropping downward, as indicated by the position of the slide 22. It will be noted that whereas apparently the same cap will operate both of the cork releasing slides, the plate I8 will'be under the lower ends of the chutes and thereby prevent the cork discs dropping downward until the caps and openings for the corks are in corresponding positions, as shown in Figure 3, at which time the cork disc will drop just before the slide l3 starts its return movement. These slide members 22 and 23 are slidably held in grooves in the member I! and their inner ends are held by pins 29 and 39 in slots 3| and 32. It will be understood, however, that these bars may be mounted and operated by any other means or in any other manner.

The slide I 9 is slidably mounted in the groove I9 and is moved outward with a positive movement by a cam wheel 33, and yieldingly moved inward by a spring 34. This plate is connected to an arm 35 thru a slider 35 to which it is connected by a pin 31, and the opposite end of the arm 35 is connected by a pin 33 to a lever 39 which is pivotally mounted on a pin 40 on the outer edge of the member II. A roller 4| is rotatably mounted on the lower side of the lever 39 thru a pin 42 and this roller is positioned so that it may be engaged by the members of the cam 33 so that as the cam rotates in a clockwise direction, it will engage the roller and move the lever from the position shown in dotted lines to the'position shown in full lines during which movement the plate I3 will be drawn backward to the position shown in Figure 3 and as soon as the roller II rolls off of one of the projections of the cam the spring 34 will move the lever and plate I8 backward to feed the cork discs into the openings 20. The cam 33 is mounted upon a shaft 43 which extends downward and on the lower end of the shaft is a gear which meshes with a gear 45 on a shaft 46 which is positioned below the cap feeding wheel 2. The gear 45 meshes with a gear 41 of the assembling element and these gears are arranged and proportioned so that exact timing is obtained which locates the corkdiscs, caps and plungers in alignment before the plungers descend. These gears are indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2, and the gears and shafts may be driven by a motor or from a countershaft or by any means.

In the design shown the machine is provided with a pulley 48 which may be driven from a countershaft or by any means and this is mounted in the frame 49 on a shaft 50 and the gear 41 may be driven thereby thru bevel gears 5I which drive a vertical stub shaft 52 and this drives a similar shaft 53 thru gears 54 and the shaft 53 is pro vided with a gear 55 that meshes with the gear 47 so that as the pulley 48 is rotated, it will rotate the machine thru these gears and the gear 41. An idler pulley 56 may also be provided for the belt when it is not desired to operate the machine. These gears are only indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2 as it will be understood that the machine may be operated by any means or in any manner.

It will be noted that in the design shown in Figure 3 the plate I8 is moved inward to feed the corks with a yielding movement and withdrawn with a positive movement as should the corks catch on the disc carrying element I or should any obstruction work into the slot I9, or

should the corks catch or hold in the chutes, the

plate I8 may stop and will not be forced inward against the obstruction. This plate may, however, be moved inward with a positive movement by using a cam 51, as shown in Figure 6, in which the parts are shown on a smaller scale, as in this design a roller 58 is placed on the pin 31 and a lever 59 is also mounted upon the pin, the opposite end of which is resiliently held outward by a spring 60 attached to an arm 6I extending outward from the casng. As the cam 51 rotates, it will move the roller 58 and the slide I8 inward with a positive movement and as soon as the roller rolls off of the projection of the cam, the spring will draw the roller and slide outward to the position shown in Figure 3. It will be understood, however, that anyother means may be provided for operating the slide or plate I8 and it may be yieldingly or positively moved in either direction.

The cork discs are fed in columns with one disc above the other and the columns are held in the chutes I which extend downward from a hopper 62, however, it willbe understood that the corks may be fed in any manner or by any means.

The caps are fed from a hopper 63 thru chutes 64 and 65 which turn all the caps in the same direction and these chutes assemble the caps at a common point and feed them to a common chute 66, as shown in Figure 7. The caps are fed to this chute so that as they pass thru a turn 61 at the lower end, they face upward and will be deposited upon a short endless belt 68, as shown in Figure 8. This belt will convey the caps toward the cap carrying element 2 where they are deposited between the teeth thereof. The belt 68 is mounted upon pulleys 69 and 10 which may be supported in a bracket II from the frame of the machine and the pulley I0 may be driven by gears I2 thru a vertical shaft 13 which is rotated by a gear 14 that meshes with the large gear 45 positioned below the cap carrying element. It will be understood, however, that this conveyor may be mounted by any other means and may be driven in any other manner. At the sides of the conveyor are guard rails 15 and I6 and these may be covered with a cover plate TI, as shown in Figures ,2 and '7. The guard rail I5 terminates at the point I6 and beyond this point is a lever 19 which is pivotally mounted on a pin 88 and resiliently held in the position shown by a spring 8I which is connected to a pin 82 on the lever and also to a pin 83 on the cover plate 11. It will be noted that as caps are caught between the teeth of the cap carrying element 2 and the edge of the chute or end of the guard, as indicated by the dotted lines 84 in Figure 7, the member I9 may move outward to the position indicated by the dotted lines 85 and thereby permit the cap to drop downward into a chute 86. The element I9 will be drawn backward by the spring to the position shown in full lines as soon as the cap drops out of the way. This safety device will also make it possible to relieve caps caught in any manner, or to permit oversized or damaged caps to be expelled. It will be understood, however, that any other means may be used for relieving caps caught in the feeding mechanism and this may be operated in any manner or by any means. It will also be understood that any other means may be used for feeding the caps to the teeth of the cap carrying element. It will be noted that the teeth of the cap carrying element are provided with grooves 81 to receive the outwardly flared edges of the open ends of the caps and the edge of the member 19 may also be provided with a similar groove and a guard rail 88 positioned continuously around the out- I side of the cap carrying element may also be provided with a similar groove as shown in Figures 4 and 8. A guard 89 may also be located continuously around the cap carrying element and this is positioned above the guard rail 88 and the outer edge of the member 2 so that the caps will be positively held between the teeth of the member 2 as shown in Figure 4. This member 89 may be provided with openings 88 at intervals so that the caps may readily be observed.

After the caps are in place they are continuously moved in a counter-clockwise direction and as they travel around the cap carrying element and an adhesive is placed in them, as shown in my copending application, with the Serial No. 744,904. From this adhesive or glue feeding device the caps are conveyed by the cap carrying element to the assembling position, as shown in Figure 3, in which the caps are aligned with the cork discs or liners and the plungers 3, and as they ar-.

rive at this position, the plungers descend and force the corks downward into the caps upon the glue and the plungers remain in this position, hold the discs in the caps throughout one complete revolution of the assembling element and until the plungers are raised by a cam surface I5I on the assembling element at which time the plungers are raised out of the caps and the caps are engaged by a plate I52 which slides the caps out of the assembling element and drops them upon the upper end I53 of the chute 8 which feeds them upon the head end I5 of the conveyor 6 or upon any conveying means or to any point or points.

It will be understood that the caps and corks may be fed to the machine in any manner or by i any means and also that any means may be used for conveying the assembled caps from the machines.

The assembling element is formed with an upper ring I55, a lower ring I56, a base I51 and an intermediate partition I58 with the plungers 3 extending thru the rings I55 and I56 and also thru the partition I58 and the corks are fed into a space I59 between the ring I56 and the partition I58, and the caps are fed into a space I68 between the base I51 and the partition I58, and as the plunger descends it first engages the corks which are held in the member I and forces the corks downward thru a converging opening I6I in the partition I58 and into the cap. The plungers are resiliently forced downward by springs I62, the upper ends of which engage the rings I 55 and the lower ends of which are held upon pins I63 extending thru the plungers. The, upper ends I64 of the plungers are square and extend thru square openings I65 in the ring I" and rollers I66 are mounted on the upper ends, as shown in Figure 5. These plungers are positioned at intervals around the periphery of the ring I and the ring is rotated by the gear 41 which meshes with the gear 45 so that the plungers are exactly timed with the cork and cap carrying elements. The plungers are normally held in the downward position, however, as they arrive at a point I61, as shown in Figure 1, the rollers roll upon the cam surface I5I and raise the plungers so that they release the caps and the caps are ejected by a plate I52 .which extends into the space I60, as indicated by the dotted lines shown in Figure 3, and as the assembling element continues to rotate the rollers I56, they ride upon a higher cam surface I68 and as they arrive at a point corresponding with the center line of the machine, which is indicated by the numeral I69 in Figure 3, the cam surface terminates and the springs force the plungers downward so that they force the corks thru the opening IGI and into the caps. The plungers then remain in the downward position where they hold the caps continuously as they pass around the assembling element and are released at the point I61.

As it is desired to wedge the corks in the caps in order to have them flt snugly therein, the corks are provided slightly larger than the inside diameter of the caps and are forced thru the converging openings so that they are contracted and then as they are stamped into the caps by the quick action of the plungers, they will be wedged therein and will expand slightly so that they will be firmly held. The corks are also held by the glue in the caps so that they may permanently remain therein. I

The plate I52 is shaped, as shown in Figure 3,

and this extends to the point I" and the opposite edge extends to a line "I, slightly beyond the ends of the teeth of the cap carrying ele ment and above this plate is another plate I12 which extends inward to the line I13 which is slightly beyond the ends of the teeth of the cork disc carrying member I. These plates are provided so that the corks and caps may be held in their respective positions until they arrive at the point I69 where they are assembled. It will be understood that these plates may be arranged in any other manner and may be held by any means. In the design shown they are held by a screw I14 which extends thru the member I I and into the plates. a.

It will be understoodthat other changes may be made in the construction without departing from the spirit of the invention. One of which changes may be in the use of a frame or supporting means of any other type or design in which the elements may be in the location of the respective elements in different positions, another may be in the use of other means for supplying the caps and lining discs to the conveying elements therefor, another may be in the use of any other means for conveying the assembled caps from the machine, and still another may be in the use of the machine for any other products or any other purpose.

The construction will be readily understood from the foregoing description. In use the machine may be provided as shown in the drawings and with the the corks fed thru the hopper 62 and the caps thru the hopper 63 these may be conveyed to the assembling position by their respective conveying elements and the plungers will drive the corks into the caps as hereinbefore described. As the conveying element continues to rotate, the glue or adhesive will dry and when the caps are ejected, the lining discs will be firmly secured and held therein. The machine may be provided with means for drying the glue or adhesive or it may be installed in a room with atmospheric conditions adapted to dry the glue or adhesive, or the cap carrying element may be provided with steam pipes I16 for supplying heat thereto, as shown in Figure l, orany other means may be used for supplying heat to the cap carrying element or to the other parts.

Having thus fully described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The combination with a bottle cap and disc assembling machine of the type in which the discs and caps are positively fed by mechanical means to a common point where they are delivered to and assembled by an assembling element; of a disc carrying element, a cap carrying element, positioned below the disc carrying element, and with the carrying means of both elements aligned, and an assembling element of a comparatively larger diameter than the cap carrying element, a disc feeder positioned at one side of the disc and cap carrying elements, and adapted to feed a plurality of discs at the same time, and with the same movement to positions above caps in the said cap carrying element, means controlling the feeding mechanism of said discs independently, preventing feeding of discs to the disc carrying element when the carrying means of the cap carrying element does not contain caps, thereby only feeding discs when caps are in position in the cap carrying element to receive them; means in said assembling element adapted to hold said discs in said caps substantially throughout one revolution thereof, and means operating said elements, said elements positioned to position the discs, caps and holding means in alignment in an assembling position.

2. In a bottle cap and lining disc assembling machine as described in claim 1, means feeding said discs to said disc carrying element with a yielding motion.

3. In a bottle cap and lining disc assembling machine as described in claim 1, said discs fed in pairs, 0. plate adapted to move said discs into said disc carrying element, means positively withdrawing said plate from said feeding movement, and means yieldingly operating said plate to feed said discs.

4. In a bottle cap and lining disc assembling machine as described in claim 1, means feeding said discs in two columns, sliding plates adapted to engage the lowermost discs of said columns, and means operating said plates to release said discs as" caps pass said sliding plates in positions in said cap carrying element corresponding with the positions into which the corks are to be fed, said slides adapted to operate independently.

5. In a bottle cap and lining disc assembling machine as described in claim 1, said assembling element having a partition with a recess to receive the discs above the partition and a recess to receive the caps below the partition, andsaid partition having openings converging toward the lower ends thru which the discs are forced by the holding means into said caps.

6. In a bottle cap and lining disc assembling machine as described in claim 1, means feeding said caps to said cap carrying element, a yielding element in'said cap carrying means permitting escapement of said caps when they engage the teeth of said cap carrying element instead of the spaces between the teeth.

7. In a bottle cap and lining disc assembling machine as described in claim 1 means feeding said caps in the proper positionya feeding endless belt conveying said caps into said cap carrying element, and yielding means at one side of said belt permitting said caps to escape when not properly fed.

8. A device as described in claim 1, in which discs are fed to the disc-carrying element by a sliding plate operated in the feeding movement by a spring and returned by a cam.

9.. A device as described in claim 1 in which discs are fed to the disc-carrying element by a sliding plate operated in the feeding movement by a spring and returned by a cam, and in which sliding plates are provided to engage the lowermost discs of said feeding apparatus and means is provided for operating said plates to release said discs when caps are contained in positions in the cap'carrying element-corresponding with the discs of said feeding apparatus.

10. A device as described in claim 1 in which discs are fed to the vdisc-carrying element by a sliding plate operated in the feeding movement by a spring and returned by a cam, and in which sliding plates are provided to engage the lowermost discs of said feeding apparatus and means is provided for operating said plates to release said discs when caps are contained in positions in the cap carrying element corresponding with the discs of said feeding apparatus, said disc holding plates engaging said discs with a yielding movement. a

BERTHOLD NAGY. 

